It’s striking that the five Mission: Impossible films, made across two decades in an ever-changing Hollywood, have all starred Tom Cruise. Even in this age of franchises and costumed stars, it’s hard to think of many actors who have been associated with the same character — be it a Bond or a Batman — for quite as long as Cruise has been playing the part of Ethan Hunt. Especially an actor who was much, much bigger than the character when he first took the role: Yes, Vin Diesel has been in six of the seven Fast and Furious movies, but Diesel needs the paychecks; yes, Robert Downey Jr. has now played Iron Man five times, but that part was central to his comeback. Whereas Cruise did the first M:I film when he was at his absolute peak, in the days of Jerry Maguire and The Firm and A Few Good Men. And here he is 20 years later still doing it. Even though he’s no longer quite as bankable as he once was, the studios aren’t looking for a younger replacement; even though the part isn’t exactly the kind of legacy-burnishing role that movie stars of his vintage often look for, he keeps coming back to it.
The best explanation — and this thought is hardly original to me — is that Cruise keeps playing Hunt because Hunt is Cruise. The role is a perfect marriage of a movie-star persona and a cinematic character, and at this point it’s impossible to imagine any other actor in the part.
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